Why is running a marathon like giving birth? The possible role of oxytocin in the underestimation of the memory of pain induced by labor and intense exercise

Farley, Dominika; Piszczek, Łukasz; Bąbel, Przemysław

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.003

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…These findings are significant when combined with those of Farley et al (2019) regarding pain, memory, and oxytocin. Women who experience natural and undisturbed birth may retreat into a kind of “inner world,” and when combined with the effects of hormones, especially oxytocin, one of the consequences is some memory impairment, which is associated with a hypofrontality state.…”

Section: Birthing Consciousness As a Case Of Transient Hypofrontalitymentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Farley et al (2019) hypothesized that, primarily during the encoding phase, oxytocin influences memory of pain through its inhibiting action in the central nucleus of the amygdala during the painful event, (i.e., during memory formation). Note, however, that Farley et al (2019) did not connect the oxytocin system mechanism to hypofrontality. Further research in this direction may shed light on the biochemical aspects of transient hypofrontality.…”

Section: Birthing Consciousness As a Case Of Transient Hypofrontalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 5. It is evident that the phenomenology of pain is also connected to physiology (brain functions) and that although memory is related to cognitive functions, it also seems to be related to pain (phenomenology) and to the action of oxytocin in the central nucleus of the amygdala (physiology; see Farley et al, 2019). Thus, the division into phenomenological, cognitive, and biochemical aspects is a bit artificial.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Birthing Consciousness as a Case of Adaptive Altered State of Consciousness Associated With Transient Hypofrontality

Dahan

2020

Perspect Psychol Sci

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In this article, I present the concept of “birthing consciousness,” a psychophysical altered state of women that can occur during natural and undisturbed birth. I demonstrate that this altered state of consciousness (ASC) has phenomenological and cognitive features of hypofrontality; thus, birthing consciousness probably shares a similar brain mechanism to that postulated by the transient-hypofrontality theory (THT). I argue that until recently (with the advent of modern medical intervention), in evolutionary terms, women lacking the proclivity for this specific brain mechanism had a lower chance of reproducing successfully. Hence, I suggest a general and preliminary hypothesis concerning THT: Birthing consciousness is one example of an adaptive pain-induced ASC associated with transient hypofrontality.

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Section: Birthing Consciousness As a Case Of Transient Hypofrontalitymentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Birthing Consciousness As a Case Of Transient Hypofrontalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Birthing Consciousness as a Case of Adaptive Altered State of Consciousness Associated With Transient Hypofrontality

Dahan

2020

Perspect Psychol Sci

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“…Future longitudinal studies could follow the course of identity fusion as well as event-related mechanisms of fusion over the antenatal and postpartum periods. It would also be interesting to measure other mechanisms of pain perception and epidural use [e.g., 60], endogenous oxytocin levels and exposure to synthetic oxytocin such as Pitocin [e.g., 61,62], and stress hormone levels such as cortisol [e.g., 63] at different time points before, during, and after childbirth. Our sample is not representative of first-time mothers outside the United States; future analyses could explore possible cultural differences across Western and non-Western cultures.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Band of mothers: Childbirth as a female bonding experience

et al. 2020

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Does the experience of childbirth create social bonds among first-time mothers? Previous research suggests that sharing emotionally intense or painful experiences with others leads to "identity fusion," a visceral feeling of oneness with a group that predicts strong forms of prosocial action and self-sacrifice for other group members. This study compared identity fusion with other mothers during pregnancy versus after childbirth in a sample of 164 U.S. women. Eighty-nine mothers in our sample were pregnant with their firstborn, and 75 mothers had given birth to their firstborn up to 6 months prior to the time of data collection. Results demonstrated that identity fusion with other mothers was higher for postpartum mothers than for antenatal mothers. As predicted, among postpartum mothers, those who thought that their childbirth was more painful than a typical childbirth experience reported greater identity fusion with mothers who reported having had a very difficult birth. Postpartum mothers' ruminative thought about the birth mediated the association between level of dysphoria and identity fusion, and identity fusion moderated the association between postpartum mothers' ruminative and reflective thought about the birth and their posttraumatic growth in complex ways. These findings provide evidence that perceived sharedness of the childbirth experience and thoughts about the birth are important to the process of identity fusion with other mothers, and highlight the importance of post-event processing for psychological health.

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“…3,5,8,11,14,15,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29] These studies mostly emphasize the role of negative affect, 5,11,14,15,20,[23][24][25][26]28 whereas some recent studies suggest that positive affect may also be of importance, especially in terms of pain associated with positively valued experiences. 3,30 One previous study shows that negative affect experienced after reaching the marathon finish line enabled pain memory predictions. The influence of positive affect on pain memory was statistically nonsignificant, but a trend was revealed, suggesting the need for further research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Lighter Side of Pain: Do Positive Affective States Predict Memory of Pain Induced by Running a Marathon?

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Landeira-Fernández

et al. 2022

JPR

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Background: Memory and in turn, memory of pain is a reconstructive process. This study considers the relationship between time, memory, affective states, and pain induced by running a marathon by investigating the influence of these factors on a participant's memory of pain experienced after a marathon. The following two hypotheses were formulated: 1) participants' recalled-pain of marathon experience is underestimated; and 2) the underestimation of recalled pain would be greater for participants experiencing higher positive affect. Methods: A longitudinal design was employed to check pain intensities of marathon participants a) at the finish line and b) 6 months following its completion. The sample size was based on a power analysis, and 108 marathonists rated their pain intensities and positive and negative affects at the finish line. From this sample, 58 participants recalled their pain experience of running the marathon 6 months later. Linear models, including computer-based data-mining algorithms, were used. Results: The experienced pain was higher than their recalled pain (t(55) = 3.412, p < 0.01, d = 0.45), supporting the first hypothesis. The memory of pain faded similarly in all participants, which did not directly support the second hypothesis. Further exploratory analysis suggested that negative and positive affective states were related to participants' pain memory; positive affective states appeared to be inversely related to the recall (β = −0.289, p = 0.039). Discussion: This study shows that time has a significant effect on memory recall and that emotions may also influence the memory of pain. This is the first study that preliminarily showcased the effect of positive affective states on the memory of pain induced by physical exercise.

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Why is running a marathon like giving birth? The possible role of oxytocin in the underestimation of the memory of pain induced by labor and intense exercise

Cited by 11 publications

References 93 publications

Birthing Consciousness as a Case of Adaptive Altered State of Consciousness Associated With Transient Hypofrontality

Birthing Consciousness as a Case of Adaptive Altered State of Consciousness Associated With Transient Hypofrontality

Band of mothers: Childbirth as a female bonding experience

The Lighter Side of Pain: Do Positive Affective States Predict Memory of Pain Induced by Running a Marathon?

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